Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon ranked first and second in a survey of presidential preferences following the June 3 local elections and parliamentary by-elections. Cho Kuk, former leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party who lost in the Pyeongtaek-B by-election, placed third.
According to a "future presidential preference survey" conducted by Gallup Korea on June 9-11 of 1,002 eligible voters aged 18 and older nationwide, Mayor Oh recorded 9%, taking first place. Rep. Han followed with 8%, and former leader Cho with 7%. They were followed by Prime Minister Kim Min-seok (5%), People Power Party Leader Jang Dong-hyuk (3%), and Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik (2%).
Rep. Song Young-gil of the Democratic Party, Reform Party Leader Lee Jun-seok, former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, People Power Party Rep. Lee Jin-sook, former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, Democratic Party Leader Jung Chung-rae, and former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo each recorded 1%. Respondents who named other figures accounted for 6%, while 52% withheld their opinion. The survey was conducted in an open-response format, in which respondents named candidates directly without being presented with a specific list.
Notably, Mayor Oh (22%) and Rep. Han (19%) each recorded preference levels of around 20% within the People Power Party's support base, expanding their presence in the conservative camp following the local elections. Mayor Oh also topped a survey asking which metropolitan government head was most anticipated, recording 17%. Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo followed with 9%, Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae with 7%, and Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-wook with 4%.
Among candidates who lost in this election, Democratic Party Daegu mayoral candidate Kim Boo-kyum (17%) was named first as the most regrettable. Jung Won-oh, the same party's Seoul mayoral candidate, recorded 10%, while People Power Party Busan mayoral candidate Park Heong-jun and Incheon mayoral candidate Yoo Jeong-bok each recorded 4%.
Regarding the local election results, 28% responded that they were "satisfied," while 60% said they were "not satisfied." Thirteen percent withheld their opinion. The most cited reasons for dissatisfaction were election management problems, including ballot shortages (18%) and electoral fraud (13%).
The survey was conducted via telephone interviews using virtual numbers for mobile phones. The margin of error was ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and the response rate was 11.3%. Detailed information is available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.
